Fort Collins has produced the first raccoon to test positive for rabies on Colorado’s Front Range since 1963, the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment said Thursday.

The only rabid raccoon recorded in Colorado in the last 50 years was in Cheyenne County on the Eastern Plains in 2008.

The raccoon entered an enclosed yard near East Trilby Road and South Lemay Avenue in southeast Fort Collins Tuesday night and was killed by dogs, the health department said.

The owner provided the raccoon for testing.

“Fortunately, the dog owner kept his animals fully vaccinated and called animal control after the attack,” Larimer County health department director Adrienne LeBailly stated. “He avoided the heartbreak of seeing his animals die.”

She urged pet and livestock owners to vaccinate their animals.

“The number of animals with rabies in Larimer County is expected to rise,” LeBailly said. “If people make a decision not to vaccinate their animals or to put it off, they need to realize the consequences.”

The dogs that killed the raccoon were given rabies booster shots and remain under home observation for 45 days..

Bats have been the main carriers or rabies in Colorado for decades, but on May 4,the Fort Collins area produced its first rabid skunk about 10 miles away, not far from where a bison at Colorado State University’s Foothills Campus died from the illness a few weeks late.

Through Wednesday, Larimer County had confirmed rabies in 21 skunks, six bats, the CSU bison and the recent raccoon.

Statewide this year, 53 skunks, 24 bats and three foxes have been found with the virus, as well as a cat in Cheyenne County and a cow in Bent County, according to the Colorado Department of Health and Environment.

“These numbers reflect only animals that have been trapped and tested for rabies, and the actual number of animals in the county with rabies is certainly higher,” the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment said in a statement.

Joey Bunch was a reporter for 12 years at The Denver Post before leaving to join The Gazette in Colorado Springs. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry. He likes stories more than reports.

Colorado energy regulators on Monday proposed tighter rules for shutting down oil and gas pipelines after a fatal explosion blamed on natural gas leaking from a line that was thought to be out of service but was still connected to a well.